You owe me something
I’ve always loved that expression “I don’t have to do anything except stay black and die!” It’s a real, grimy, I don’t give a fuk statement. And it’s true. You don’t have to do anything except be whoever you are and eventually die. What else is really guaranteed in life right?
True as it is, it’s not the way you go through life. Yes, there are plenty of things that you don’t have to do. There are always options. However, there are some things that you do have to do. At least if you care about anyone you do. You have obligations to the people you care about. You have an obligation to be honest and straightforward. Why? Simple…because you care about them and their feelings, which sometime requires a sacrifice on your own part. That is, if you do actually care. Because lets be honest: I’m not obligated to tell some random chick in the club that her outfit went out of style fifteen years ago. I don’t know that chick and honestly, I’m getting a hell of a laugh out of her. Her friends, they were obligated to tell her that outfit she has on is dead wrong. But I am obligated to tell the man that I care about that he no longer makes me happy. Why? Because I care about that person as much as I care about myself and their happiness is as important as my own. And so I owe him the respect of fulfilling my obligation to him.
I’ll never understand why more people don’t see life that way. Everyone has their selfish moments; I am the first to admit that I have my own. But having selfish moments and being a selfish person is by far not the same thing. Obligations are an unavoidable part of life. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers, you are obligated to do right by them as they are to you. Sure you don’t have to do anything except stay black and die, but in the long run, how far is that going to get you in life?
